Too Close
by lezonne
Summary: A sticking charm gets out of hand and Draco tags along on Ron's unsuccessful date. Yet he still catches her attention later.


**A/n:** Round 9. Prompts #3 possible, #9 present, #11 (emotion) annoyed.

Never in my entire life have I witnessed such a pathetic display of affection as the one in front of me right now.

Well, that's not entirely true. Pansy did cling to me for the better part of three years.

And pathetic may not even be the right word. I'm not sure if there is a right word to describe the duo in front of me.

I shouldn't be here really, I should be off lounging in my flat avoiding human contact. My little _screening_ at the Ministry this morning was supposed to only take a short time. I was just in answering some questions about the Greengrass', doing my absolute best to glare the entire world down, and of course the one bloody day I try to mind my own business is the day that something goes array.

It's Weasley's fault in all honesty. If he didn't try to one-up me in the hallway we wouldn't be in this situation right now, and he wouldn't be crushing his minute chances of continuing to date Granger.

"Tell me again Ronald," she said sternly, sitting on the opposite side of the booth from the pair of us. I'd much rather be on the end away from both of them instead of shoved between Weasley and a wall. "How exactly did the two of you get stuck together?"

He blushes, and I can't help but roll my eyes. How this twit is always getting hit on I will never know. I'm more of a catch than him- Death Eater background or not. "Well… I was coming out of interrogation."

"So you've said. And then?"

"Malfoy was waiting in the hallway," he says, glaring in my direction as though this nonsense is somehow my fault, "And I didn't know the charm was still active. I guess I just connected with more than I suspected and when he made a sly comment about my family I pulled him up to fight-"

"And that's how the two of you ended up stuck together?" she concluded, looking between us. Weasley's blasted hand clutching to my wrist is proof enough of that. "You let a sticking charm outsmart you?"

"Hermione, it _is_ an extra strength sticking charm-"

"Then you should have removed the charm thoroughly from your person before even _stepping_ outside of your interrogation room. What a bout of strong sticking charm was doing in an interrogation room of all places and not an _investigation_ room I will never know."

He slouches down in the booth knowing he's screwed up. I can't say it's a shocker- he did bring along a third wheel for his six month anniversary. One might think they had been together longer, but after what I've learned was a lengthy break up Granger appears to have given the Weasley twit another shot. He's blowing it worse than most blokes will in their whole lifetime.

She rolls her eyes, angling her attention to me for the first time since our initial arrival. "And you just _let_ Ron drag you here for your anniversary dinner? I would think that you couldn't stand the thought Malfoy, let alone be a part of it."

I shrug, unmoved by her irritated tone. As annoyed as she is, I can't quite let their emotions get under my skin. This is shaping up to be kind of fun. "It was either this or sit at the Ministry for Merlin knows how long waiting for a solution to come forth. I understand that the remedy for this strong of a sticking potion isn't complex, but it still takes time to create. At least this way he wouldn't be whining to me all night."

Of course my motives for coming along are purely selfish. Why would I strive to help out Weasley?

She's completely unhinged by his behavior and lack of decorum as soon as we arrived. Ordering before explaining was possibly one of his worst ideas.

"I can't believe you did this," she sighed.

"I just wanted to see you," he said, smiling widely. I roll my eyes, wondering if it is possible for Weasley to get anymore corny tonight. He is doing everything in his power to make Granger believe that he honestly thought bringing me along was a good idea. "We can ignore Malfoy."

"You know that might be easier to do if I was actually eating something tonight you twit," I snap, rolling my eyes. A menu still sits in front of me on the table, as does Granger's. Weasley is the only one who ordered tonight, after he complained about _starvation._

He glares at me. "Malfoy-"

"Yes, I would also like to order," Granger snaps from across the table, startling her ginger boyfriend. "Since you didn't bother asking if anyone else here was interested in eating I think we should take a moment and order as well. I'll be sure to let the waiter know that your food is to come out at the same time as ours."

Weasley looks deflated by her statement, and I wonder for a moment if he is more concerned with the arrival of his food than smoothing the tense lines between him and Granger. Then again, food would be a nice distraction from that.

"You should have owled me to come to the Ministry," she sighs a few minutes later after we've placed our orders. "At least we could have talked there. I would have liked some fair-warning before this happened."

"I didn't want to disappoint you," he says, throwing his arms up. I immediately yank my own back down, glaring at him. This isn't my problem after all. "I know I'm treading on thin water-"

"We're both treading on thin water," she says, the annoyance clear in her voice once again. "Our relationship hasn't really been working out since we got back together Ron. Maybe this is a sign."

He looks absolutely dumbstruck by the entire idea of this being a sign, but I can't suppress my chuckles. Leave it to Granger to make the twit feel awkward and uncertain- as if he can't do that all by himself.

"It's not a sign," he says stubbornly, sending me a not-so-convincing death glare. "He's just a token of bad luck."

"I'm not the one that got us stuck together," I remind with a roll of my eyes. "That was your own fault Weasley."

He glowers, annoyed with my reasoning. I sit back in the booth and attempt to relax, zoning out the duo as soon as possible. I don't really care what they are arguing about anyway.

Dinner arrives and Weasley almost looks like he's received a present. For a moment his endless banter with Granger is over as he is engulfed in the idea of eating. Even back in school he had a mighty appetite, though he still lacks proper table manners.

Granger looks rather disturbed by the way he eats. It might be humorous if I wasn't currently sharing an arm with him. He keeps jerking about, picking through the different items on his plate and occasionally shifting to have a drink. Each time he chews with his mouth open Granger crinkles her nose, tightening her hand on her fork with each bite he takes. She's barely even touched her own meal.

Interesting.

"Must you eat like that?" she hissed, finally losing her temper. "Even Malfoy eats better than you!"

I arch an eyebrow. For the past five minutes I've been trying to eat with my opposite hand and resist the urge to kick Weasley too much. Yet she's the one to break the awkward silence and actually say something.

He glances at me for a brief moment. "He eats like a girl."

"I do _not_ Weasley, I just know how to eat without disgusting my date. Granger's not my girlfriend, but at least she doesn't cringe every time I take a bite."

Weasley grumbles something, probably to hide his not-so-pleasant comments from Granger's ears more so than my own. He's treading thing water, just like he said, and he doesn't seem to want to push his luck any more.

"What was that Ron? I couldn't quite hear you between all the grumbling."

He drops his eyes, looking more than a little defeated. "Don't you think we can talk about this when Malfoy isn't around?"

She sighs, extending a hand upward n defeat. "Check please."

Well, if this isn't the sign of a rocky relationship then I don't know what is.

* * *

Being free of Weasley's arm is less enjoyable than I thought. The dirt I hoped to at least uncover while being attached to him was next to nothing. Everyone already knew his relationship with Granger wasn't working out. That's old news.

But that regrettable night was three weeks ago. I've ignored the redhead since, deciding I'd rather never be near that awkward relationship again. If either one of them values their sanity they will escape while they still like one another's company.

I'm walking past a store when it happens. She comes out, a little distracted just like me, and we barrel into each other on the crowded street. I hit her accidently and her things go flying into the floor. She sighs in exasperation.

"And here I thought you were more coordinated than Ron."

Surprised I don't even move to pick up her things. Under the terribly large hat she was hiding, chestnut curls swaying lightly in the breeze.

I'm seriously paying attention to her hair right now?

"Take a picture Malfoy it'll last longer," she sighed, shaking her head. Moving to pick up her books I finally snap back into reality, bending to help her.

"You know Granger you don't look so weighed down without Weasley hanging off your arm."

She frowns at me. "Quit poking fun at Ron. He's not a bad guy you know."

"Just bad for you," I point out, knowing their relationship is officially over. "I can't blame you. I prefer eating next to people instead of animals as well."

She swats me in the arm, but the tiniest of smiles plays at her lips. "Quit that!"

"Are you actually smiling at my insults? Weasley must have really got on your nerves if you're smiling at my comments about him."

"I'm just frustrated with him," she replied, looking me over before she turns away as though nothing happened. That's curious. "Give it a few days and I'll be scolding you for comments like that again."

"I'll hold you to it."

Am I seriously almost flirting with Granger? Maybe I drank something weird this morning…. Or that potion had some lasting effects.

"Yes you will. And who knows, maybe that's a good thing. You did leave a strange lasting impression on me."

I do a double take, watching her smile and then step past me. Maybe Weasley slipped her some bizarre potion after their final date, and it's having its effects now instead of later. Or maybe Granger's losing her marbles.

Hermione Granger just checked you out.

What a crazy day.


End file.
